Save the Date! OVFC’s annual Craft & Vendor show will be held on Saturday, November 9 from 9 AM-2 PM . See our Events Page for more details at
Save the Date! OVFC’s annual Craft & Vendor show will be held on Saturday, November 9 from 9 AM-2 PM . See our Events Page for more details at
The Odenton Volunteer Fire Company’s Fall Bull Roast will be on Saturday, November 2nd at 7 PM until 11 PM. The theme will be the movie “Grease”. Food will be served from 7-9. There will be a wide variety of food items, including pit beef, ham, sausage & oysters and plenty of side dishes. Tickets are $35 per person in advance. For more information or to buy tickets online go to our events page at
https://ovfc28.org/event/oyster-bull-roast-2/
Long time OVFC supporter Bert Rice recently received an Honorary Life Membership from the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company. This honor was bestowed on behalf of Bert’s long support for the fire company through his term on the County Council and his continued connections with local business, military and political leaders in the odenton community.
Bert joins Alfred Shehab and the late Norman Myers in receiving honorary Life Memberships from the company this year. He was unable to receive it earlier as he now spends his summers in Montana. Congratulations to Bert, Norman, and Alfred on this special honor.
The Odenton Volunteer Fire Company recently received a check from the Cedar Ridge Association for $7,500. This was the proceeds from their 2nd annual community fundraiser the association held on September 14 to benefit the fire company. The donation will be used to provide equipment and training. Last year, Cedar Ridge donated just under $5,000 to the company.
Cedar Ridge is 55+ active adult community within Piney Orchard. The Odenton Volunteer Fire Company is extremely grateful for the support of the greater Odenton community through groups such as the Cedar Ridge Association.
In August 2019, Joe McPhail of the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company (OVFC) received the Spirit of Service Award from the American Legion at their 101st National Convention in Indianapolis.
When Joe joined the OVFC, he was an instructor at the Naval Academy. He had been on aircraft carriers; hydraulic engineering is his passion. Most sailors are already firefighters to begin with. He took one class after another and always did excellent in the classes. Joe’s ability to comfort patients, or in the case of children, to comfort their parents, is great. He is a leader and runs the crew when no officer is available. He rides the seat and makes the calls. It is not an easy job but he has taken to it and embraces responsibilities. Joe serves as a mentor to lesser-experienced volunteers, a role he excels in. He is a member of the Thursday night duty crew. He generally picks out the training they will be doing that night. Being an instructor, he knows how to teach people in different ways, more hands on, or find out what motivates them better. Joe is a valuable member of the OVFC.
Check out this YouTube video from the American Legion web site
https://www.legion.org/legiontv/FLlEg8BvcEH4ZVkK6f9s_Z6Q/KWX14rZrEwY
The Anne Arundel County Volunteer Firefighters Association (AACVFA) held its annual convention on September 3-6th 2019. The main event of the convention was the annual meeting of both the AACVFA and their Ladies Auxiliary on September 6. At the meeting, OVFC members received several prestigious awards. Past President William Peterson was inducted posthumously into the AACVFA Hall of Fame, an honor reserved for those who have given a lifetime of volunteer service to their community. Sean McKeever was selected as the Greg Kroft Rookie of the Year, an award recognizing the contributions of new members at their very early stages of a volunteer career. The OVFC received the Jesse Fisher trophy with 5653 hours of training. This award recognizes the fire company that has dedicated the most hours to fire, rescue, or EMS related training during the year. Klaudia Trennepohl received the Boots Raynor Award which recognizes the individual who dedicates the most hours to Fire, Rescue, or EMS related training during the year. Klaudia finished the year with 526 hours. Last but not least, Patti Kidwell received the Fire, Rescue, EMS Individual of the Year award which is considered the highest award given by the Association that can be conferred on an individual other than that of heroism. It is awarded on a highly selective basis to an individual who, in the opinion of the judges, has made an outstanding contribution to the future welfare of volunteerism with his/her company, to Anne Arundel County, and the State of Maryland. Assistant Chief Chuck Tucker received the Jesse Fisher trophy on behalf of the company as well as the Boots Raynor award on behalf of Klaudia.
The Odenton Volunteer Fire Company recently awarded Honorary Lifetime Memberships to three individuals from the Odenton Community who have provided outstanding support to the company over many years. Bert Rice, Alfred Shehab, and Norman Meyers (deceased) were all honored at a ceremony at the monthly OVFC membership meeting in July. Norman Meyer’s widow, Maureen Meyers was on hand to receive the posthumous award for Norman Meyers, along with her daughter Ann Walls. Bert Rice was not present, as he spends his summers in Montana. Alfred Shehab was accompanied by Ruth Hamilton, who also presented the Military Order of the World Wars Silver Patrick Henry award to long time OVFC member Wylie Donaldson for his contributions to the community. Alfred Shehab will be reaching the age of 100 on September 18th.
Here are links to biographies of these three individuals
On June 18, 2019, two members of the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company received statewide awards from the Maryland State Firemen’s Association (MSFA) convention at their annual convention in Ocean City.
Christopher J. Banach received the John E. “Sunny” Rose, Jr. Memorial Training Award for calendar year 2018. This award is presented annually to the member with the most hours of emergency services training completed in the State for the award year. This award is named after John E Rose, a fallen member of OVFC who was a leader in training thousands of students across the state.
David W. Lewis of the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company received the Robert H. Shimer Administrative Person of the Year Award for 2019. David has served with OVFC for over 47 years and has held every position of responsibility at the local and state level, and continues to conduct classes around the country as a fire services instructor.
These awards reflect that the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company is a leader in the State of Maryland among volunteer fire companies and its members have achieved the highest levels of service to the community.
Donald R. Johnson of the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company (OVFC) received the 2019 Star of Life Clinician of the Year Award from the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS).
In 2018, Don made 194 ambulance calls, the most of any OVFC member, and 69 fire calls. He is a dedicated member of the Thursday night crew as well as consistently filling in when other crews are in need of additional staffing. He attends annual continuing education seminars and works to assist new EMTs and ambulance drivers with getting cleared.
On May 3, 2019, Brandy Boulden of the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company (OVFC) received the Rotary Club of Glen Burnie and Bank of Glen Burnie ‘Service Above Self Award.’
One of Brandy’s greatest contributions to OVFC and to the Odenton community has been as the chairperson of our Public Education Committee. The mission of this committee is to promote fire safety, especially to children. In 2018, she conducted 21 children’s birthday parties at the fire station, where the families have fun and learn about fire safety. She also scheduled scout visits, school visits, and fire station tours.
Brandy organized and oversaw a Cookies and Crafts with Santa event, coupled with a toy collection to be donated to a local foundation to help needy children have a Merry Christmas. Brandy solicited local corporate sponsors to help fund the event, receiving $2,783 in donations. The event was a huge success, bringing in more than 200 children and parents to participate in craft making, writing letters to Santa, and visiting with Santa himself to present their Christmas wishes. At the conclusion of the event, Brandy had accumulated over $3,000 worth of toys that were donated to The Sharing Foundation to help support a brighter Christmas for needy children across Anne Arundel County.